Realizations
by Increasing Paranoia
Summary: The pyro would charbroil him into next week, he was sure of it, but he would be glad to take that chance.


__A/N: A thank you note to my beta, A Spot of Bother. I know you were not overly excited to take care of this tonight; thank you for humoring me.

* * *

_Today_, Roxas thought, _is not my day_. He had set his alarm clock for seven P.M. instead of A.M. and had missed his first two classes. He explained what had happened to the teachers and luckily both had been understanding, giving him the homework assignments without hassle. The day had started to look up when he went to practice but then he spotted…_her_.

"ROXAS!" The blond flinched as if physically hit. The brunette bounded over before Roxas could even think of fleeing. "Hey, how are you? I haven't seen you for awhile!" She smiled flirtatiously, placing a hand on his forearm.

"Kirti." It wasn't polite, but then again, Roxas wasn't trying to be.

"So what have you been doing? I missed seeing you compete in the tournaments." She pouted and Roxas had to remind himself not to smack her with the sword.

"Been busy." _H_ow _did I manage to pick her up again?_ Oh yeah, Kairi had been going on at him about being friendlier to people. So when Kirti had come up to him after a tournament, Roxas had talked to her. And she had been stalking him ever since. Roxas had decided never to listen to Kairi again.

"You should never be too busy to come to a tournament, even if you're not competing! You know I'm always at the tournaments!" She laughed at a joke she hadn't made and Roxas cringed at the tittering. He looked around, trying to find a means of escape. That's when he saw them.

Zexion, Demyx and Axel were all coming towards him. A desperate plan was already half unfolded in his mind. Zexion was out; he'd never go along with it. Demyx would, but Zexion would kill him for using the sitarist. That left Axel. The pyro would charbroil him into next week, he was sure of it, but he would be glad to take that chance. Latching on to the pyromaniac's arm as soon as he was within reach, Roxas cut off whatever Kirti had been blathering on about.

"Kirti, have you met my boyfriend?" Shocked silence filled the practice room. "Axel, this is Kirti, Kirti, Axel…my boyfriend." He squeezed Axel's arm hard, willing the thickheaded pyro to understand.

"Why, darling, I thought we were going to keep it under wraps for a little bit longer!" Axel stated, draping an arm around Roxas' neck. "Decided you couldn't, hmm? How are you, Kirti, I don't believe we've met before!" Axel shook the shocked brunette's hand and Roxas could feel blood flooding his mouth from his bit tongue. He braved a glance at Zexion and Demyx. Zexion stood as stoic as ever, but Demyx, the poor kid, had a look of utter confusion on his face.

"You – you never said you had…"

"A boyfriend?" Axel finished for her. "Oh dear, what have I told you about teasing these poor girls. You'll have to forgive him, he's a little insecure." Roxas glared at the red-head, but Axel merely smirked, arm tightening around his neck. Roxas discreetly pinched his side, letting the taller teen know that he'd be paying for that comment later.

"Well, I should probably," she gestured helplessly to the door. "There's a tournament starting soon and…"

"Nice meeting you, dear!" Axel called after her, waving. The door slamming shut was the only response. "Want to tell me what's going on between the two of you…dear?" He asked immediately.

"I introduced you." Roxas stated evasively.

"Since when are you two dating?" Demyx asked. Roxas just thanked his lucky stars the boy had kept his mouth shut when Kirti was here.

"We're not dating!" Axel and Roxas shouted at the same time. Roxas blew out a breath. "She's a tournament stalker. Wants the glory but doesn't want to put in the work."

"So you thought making her think you were gay would work? You know she's gonna have it all over the tournament by the end of the hour." Axel retorted. Roxas barely registered that Zexion was tugging Demyx towards the door, leaving him and Axel to talk. Or yell, as the case may be.

"I don't care what the people at the tournaments think of me! And if you do, then you shouldn't have gone along with it!"

"I never said I had a problem with it – don't put words in my mouth!" Roxas ran a hand through his unruly hair, clearly frustrated.

"Look, are we good or not?" Axel opened his mouth before closing it again and looking away.

"You hungry?" It was as good an answer as any, and Roxas trailed the taller teen out of the practice room. Walking down the hallway, he caught sight of Kirti flirting up a storm with her new obsession and a small grin flicked across his lips. Picking up the pace, he caught up to Axel, grabbing his hand and lacing their fingers together. Axel looked at him before catching sight of the brunette, and grinning evilly. "Did she see us?" Roxas glanced out of the corner of his eye, giving a quiet chuckle as Kirti's eyes widened before she pretended she hadn't seen them.

"Yep."

"Gay and out in the same day. The things I let you talk me into…"

"I don't care if people think I'm gay," Roxas shrugged. "It's the friends willing to help me look gay that truly matter." Axel laughed, pushing open the door to the cafeteria. Grabbing what passed for food, Axel and Roxas rejoined Zexion and Demyx at a booth.

"You guys get yourselves sorted out?" Zexion asked immediately. Roxas wished he could identify the look on his face. Roxas gave a noncommittal shrug and began eating. From the corner of his eye he could see Axel shifting uncomfortably. It was an odd sight because Axel was never one to be unsure of himself. It was something Roxas hated about him. The blond could feel Zexion's eyes narrowing at the two of them and it made him feel like a small child who had done something particularly naughty and then lied about it. The silence at the table was strained. Even Demyx, normally so exuberant, sat quietly. Pushing his tray away, Axel stood and muttered something about a walk before leaving. Watching him walk away, Roxas got a nervous sinking feeling starting in his stomach. "Why him?"

"What?" _Eloquent, Roxas._

"Why…him?" Zexion enunciated. Roxas looked up to find both of his friends peering at him intently.

"I don't know."

"Yeah, you do." Zexion retoreded. "You didn't just randomly choose Axel to be your fake boyfriend. Something motivated it. Why him?"

"Because it's Axel." It might have sounded like a lame excuse, but it seemed to satisfy his friends. That alone terrified him. Roxas pushed his tray away and left, escaping outside. Breathing deeply, he felt his lungs expand with the fresh air and contemplated what Zexion had said to him before. _You didn't just randomly choose Axel to be your fake boyfriend. Something motivated it_. What _had_ motivated him to grab Axel and introduce him as his boyfriend? What had motivated Axel to just go along with it, no questions asked? Zexion and Demyx wouldn't have. But they weren't Axel. Speaking of the red-head… "Hey," he greeted, joining Axel on the stone wall.

"I got warned by Hayner that if I so much as made you cry he'd kick my ass. I told him it was more likely to happen the other way round."

"Does it bother you?"

"That you're going to make me cry? It probably should." Roxas scowled.

"No, that everyone thinks we're together." Axel shrugged. Roxas sighed. "Just one more question." Axel raised an eyebrow in question. "Did you have to be _that_ gay around Kirti? You couldn't be my manly, tough, but still gay boyfriend?" Axel huffed, crossing his arms.

"Well excuse me; I didn't exactly have time to consider what your specifications might be!" He promptly smacked Roxas upside the head.

"Well now you know. So…get on that." Roxas could feel himself relaxing. This was normal. This was what it was supposed to be like between him and Axel. Not the strained, tense silence.

"So…movie tonight?" Roxas nodded. "Theatre or house?"

"House."

"Your place or mine?" Roxas froze. Oh good god. He had been dating Axel and hadn't even been aware of it. How long had this been going on for?

"Your place." Why had he said that? He shouldn't be encouraging this behavior, and he was going to have a strict talk with his subconscious as soon as his stomach quit fluttering. Axel looked at him quizzically. "No parents." Roxas explained. And since when did that matter? Now his subconscious was just being mean. He only just found out that neither he nor Axel was entirely straight and he goes and plans a parentless night? Axel didn't call him on it, and Roxas sure as hell wasn't going to bring it up. But he was unreasonably excited for tonight.

* * *

Axel wasn't entirely sure when his feelings for Roxas became more than what a normal friendship called for. But he was content just to hang out and make sure the kid was happy, and Roxas never seemed to show any inclination of dating anyone, so everything was really working out in Axel's favor. Until today.

He still wasn't clear on the _why_ but he suddenly found himself plastered against Roxas' side with the nametag of "Boyfriend" attached. His stomach still did a little flip each time he heard that. But then Kirti had left and Roxas was standing there with a sheepish look on his face, and Axel really didn't like the thought of being used. He had been intent on staying angry at the blond, and had fairly succeeded for about twenty minutes. But sitting cross-legged on the wall with him, he found himself joking and making plans for tonight. Roxas was going to come to his house. Because his parents weren't home.

Axel slammed through the door and shot a quick glance at the clock. He had about a half hour before Roxas would show up and if they were going to camp in his room like they usually did then he was going to have to do a serious clean up attempt. Racing up the steps he continued to barrel throw his door. Grabbing the five piles of clothes – clean? Dirty? He wasn't sure – he shoved them in the hamper, slamming the lid shut on top. Casting a critical eye, he moved on to picking his school books up off the floor and piled them somewhat neatly on his desk. He straightened out the sheets on his bed before moving on toss out the old homework scattered across the floor. Finding his trashcan full by the time this task was complete, he pulled out the bag, moving back downstairs to take it out. He opened the door right was the doorbell rang.

"You practicing to be a psychic?" Roxas asked dryly.

"Pure coincidence. I'm still hoping to be a flambé dancer." Roxas raised an eyebrow, following the taller teen around the side of the house to toss the garbage in a can.

"You'll need surgery to fix those two left feet of yours."

"I'm wounded, Roxas," he pouted. "Can't you be a supportive boyfriend for just one minute?" He teased, shutting the door behind them after re-entering the house.

"Who else would keep your insane plots in check?" Axel pretended to ponder this for a minute and Roxas punched him in the arm.

"Ow! Abusive motherfucker! Geez, gay, out, and abused! Are we going to break up by the end of the night?" Roxas eyed the older teen and gave a one-shoulder shrug. "Well, we're breezing through this relationship. Hooked up, came out, you've abused me and now we're having communication issues. Did you want to play a game or watch a movie?" Roxas smirked. As long as they could keep laughing about this, they would be okay.

"How about something to eat. Didn't really eat much lunch." Roxas had no idea what Axel was cooking, but it smelled delicious. "I didn't know you could cook."

"Guess you don't know everything then. I'm by myself most of the year. So the choice was learning to cook or eating cold cereal every night."

"How often are your parents away?" Roxas asked, elbows leaning on the bar.

"They're only home about one week out of the year." Roxas' brows furrowed.

"They're gone that long? But…don't you get lonely?" Axel pondered his answer for a moment.

"Sometimes. But I'm not really here that often except to sleep. I'm usually at someone else's house until late. Here, eat." He pushed a plate of food in front of the blond teen. Roxas had no idea what it was, but it tasted heavenly and he quickly cleaned his plate. "Still hungry?"

"No, I'm fine. Movie?" Dumping the dishes in the sink for later, Axel led the way to his room. "You want to pick first?"

"Nah, you go ahead." Axel settled onto his bed, watching the blond peruse his collection. The last thing he remembered was Roxas popping the dvd into the player and settling next to him on the bed.

"Axel… Axel, wake up, or you're not going to sleep tonight." Axel sighed, resettling himself.

"M'fine."

"Axel!" A sharp finger poked him in the side and he woke with a start.

"What the hell, blondie? That hurt!" Roxas smirked.

"Got you awake didn't it? Do you need me to kiss it better?" He teased. His heart raced when he saw Axel smirk at him. Before he had a chance to react, Axel grabbed him and kissed him – short but thorough. "How long?" Axelshrugged.

"A while." Roxas smirked and Axel's eyes narrowed at the expression. "What?" he asked warily.

"Oh, I was just thinking," Roxas stated, sneaking another kiss. "I really should send a thank you card to Kirti."

~Reviews are lovely~


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